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Joel Embiid became the ninth player in NBA history to score at least 70 points in a game on Monday, putting forth a performance that tied him for the 12th-most points in a game in league history. Bill Self, who coached the Philadelphia 76ers star during his lone season with the Kansas Jayhawks, reacted to the performance live on the air.
Speaking to ESPN's Scott Van Pelt on "SportsCenter" following the Jayhawks' 74-69 victory over the Cincinnati Bearcats, Self was asked if he heard about his former player's performance, responding:
"I saw he had like 26 in the – at halftime or something like that, what'd he end up with?"
When Van Pelt informed him that Embiid finished with 70 points, the Jayhawks coach joked:
"Oh, OK. Yeah. Hey, guys, he learned everything in the eight months he was here in Lawrence, Kansas. Everything."
The 70 points marked a career high for Embiid, who is leading the league in scoring for the third consecutive season. He added 18 rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block. He shot 24 of 41 from the field and 21 of 23 from the free-throw line in 37 minutes as the 76ers defeated the San Antonio Spurs 133-123. His previous career high of 59 points came against the Utah Jazz in November 2022.
How has Joel Embiid performed in his career?
Joel Embiid was selected third by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2014 NBA draft. After missing the first two seasons of his career due to a foot injury, he appeared in just 31 games in 2016-2017, displaying his potential for future stardom.
The injuries are now a thing of the past as he has appeared in at least 51 games in each of the past six seasons. Embiid has averaged 27.9 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 50.4% from the field, 33.8% from 3-point range and 82.5% from the free-throw line.
He has been named to six All-Star Teams, five All-NBA Teams and three All-Defensive Teams, while taking home the 2022-2023 NBA MVP award. Furthermore, he has won two scoring titles and is in line to win his third. The biggest knock on his career is that he is the only league MVP who has never reached the conference finals; however, he has plenty of time to change that.
